What Trump is doing with the auto industry isn't policy making it's bullying. Our founding fathers and everyone who followed spent 2+ centuries honing our system of government, now our President-elect thinks he can use Twitter to bypass it all. Sure it might even shift a few jobs back to America at first, but no one likes bullying and the backlash is inevitable. Looks how some of the Germans responded to this. Pretty soon American companies will get tired of the unpredictability as well. It will get harder to do business here, and jobs will decrease.

I consider myself as open-minded as the next person but no matter how I struggle I just cannot see how Donald Trump is the solution to ANY of America's problems. I don't see how any of this bullying and bluster is going to translate into sensible, sustainable policy.

This is directed at literally no one and just an observation: people really aren't open-minded these days. They tend to be ideologues more than anything. We like to think we are open-minded, but the reality is that virtually none of us is.

If there were true open-mindedness in our society people would (1) not be protesting and (2) would be saying "OK, that election didn't go as I thought it would, but let's see what happens. This could be good too."

Just food for thought and not intended to trigger.

Besides, the German economy could very well implode from the steadily weakening of the European union and the flood of refugees all demanding public assistance. These are definitely unsteady times.

If there were true open-mindedness in our society people would (1) not be protesting and (2) would be saying "OK, that election didn't go as I thought it would, but let's see what happens. This could be good too."

That is ridiculous. People have every reason to protest. Many women, Muslims, latinos etc. are fearful of what's to come. As a gay person I'm gravely concerned and I think I have legitimate reasons for feeling that way. If we kept quiet we would never be heard.

If there were true open-mindedness in our society people would (1) not be protesting and (2) would be saying "OK, that election didn't go as I thought it would, but let's see what happens. This could be good too."
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Protesters are a part of a healthy democracy; it isn't necessarily a reflection of people not having an open mind. They're simply expressing their concerns. Now, admittedly - the press is pretty much exclusively picking up on the extreme protesters doing dumb stuff for the sake of ratings. 99% of the protesters want to make sure ideologies they value are respected - and their voice is heard. The fact that they're staying in the country when The Donald is inaugurated shows that they are willing to see what happens. If they left (as many people said they would - which they aren't), then I think the comments on lack of open mindedness would be much more accurate.

I really think you'll see concessions happen to make the talk of tariffs go away. Here's a possible concession: BMW, Mercedes, and Audi announce plans to build all of their EVs in the USA.

Interesting idea, but highly unlikely. I think Merkel has made EV's a cornerstone of future vehicle production in Germany, including investments in public charging infrastructure to support the push. She rightly sees high value jobs attached to that effort at the OEM's, and wants to keep those jobs local.

Interesting idea, but highly unlikely. I think Merkel has made EV's a cornerstone of future vehicle production in Germany, including investments in public charging infrastructure to support the push. She rightly sees high value jobs attached to that effort at the OEM's, and wants to keep those jobs local.

Merkel is dead in the water politically and Trump do doubt wants her out of office. The refugee situation in Germany has angered rank-and-file citizens. I really predict a German version of the "Trump Train" happening in response to people's fears of terrorism.

I am NOT saying that all immigrants are terrorists, but fear may cause the rank-and-file citizens to see it that way if rhetoric is done "right".